Many of our team members have worked together over 20 years in development, management construction and leasing commercial real estate throughout Florida.

Our Team

W. DOUGLAS PITTS, Sr.,
Chief Executive Officer

Douglas Pitts, Sr. has been with Courtelis Company since 1965 and together with Alec Courtelis, built the company into one of Florida’s most recognized commercial property development and management companies. Mr. Pitts is a member of the Board of Directors of the Everglades Foundation, Devcon Corporation, and past director for Audubon Association of Florida.

Elias M. Vassilaros has over thirty-five years of experience in all aspects of real estate development including acquisitions of entitled and developed properties that lend themselves to redevelopment, or un-entitled tracts of land that are master planned for mixed use developments; planning and development; financing; horizontal and vertical construction of improvements. Elias Vassilaros has been the Executive Vice President of Courtelis Company for over 15 years responsible for the day to day operations. Prior to that, Elias M. Vassilaros was Vice President and General Manager of Florida Ecological Company, an underground utility construction company. Elias M. Vassilaros holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science from the University of Miami.

Charles F. Rogers has thirty six years of experience in commercial real estate finance. Prior to joining Courtelis Company in 1983, he was Vice President of Dade Federal Savings and Loan Association, who he joined in 1972. As Director of Real Estate Finance, his primary area of responsibility has been to secure acquisition, construction and permanent debt for the Company’s various real estate activities. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University, B.S. in Business Management/Finance in 1971. In addition, he has successfully completed his MAI courses 1A and 1B.

W. DOUGLAS PITTS, Jr., President
Courtelis Construction Company

Courtelis Construction Company

Mr. Douglas Pitts, Jr. joined Courtelis Construction Company in 1991 and since 1998 he has served as President. Since joining Courtelis Construction Company, Mr. Pitts had overseen the construction of over 1.8 million square feet of commercial projects and over 1800 residential units. Prior to joining Courtelis Construction Company, Mr. Pitts served as a Project Manager for Tramell Crow Residential managing the construction of over 650 residential units. Mr. Pitts obtained his Bachelors of Building Construction from the University of Florida in 1985.

Rod L. Castan has been in the commercial property development, sales, leasing, and management business since 1985. He is President of the Leasing and Management Division, and has been with Courtelis Company since 1995. Prior to joining Courtelis Company, Rod Castan was Vice President/District Leasing Manager with Balcor Property Management where he was responsible for the leasing of 1.7 million square feet of shopping centers in the Southeast United States. Rod Castan was the Southern Division Operations Chairman of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), State Director for ICSC in Florida, and is a Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) and Certified Leasing Specialist (SCLS). He is on the faculty of the John T. Riordan School of the ICSC and he has been a lecturer and guest speaker at real estate programs at ICSC, ULI, University of Florida, FSU, FIU and Miami Board of Realtors. Rod is a Chairman of the Advisory Board of the University of Florida’s Masters in Real Estate program, former member of the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami and member and Vice President of the Board of Directors of Naples Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District. He holds a B.B.A. degree in Finance from FIU.

JASON C. GRAHAM
Director of Real Estate Investments

Jason C. Graham has more than 15 years of experience in commercial real estate finance,
Real estate private equity and real estate development. His primary area of responsibility is to source,
capitalize and manage all new real estate investments for the Company. His focus is on expanding the
retail and multifamily development platforms throughout the state of Florida.
Prior to join Courtelis, he was the Development manager for the Lincoln East mixed-used project located
on Miami Beach.

George Myers has over twenty-five years of experience in real estate and property management in Washington, D.C. and Miami. He has been with Courtelis Company since 1985, where he has professionally managed a number of Southwest Florida properties. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and has been a licensed Florida Real Estate Broker since 1990.

Jim Zaydon has extensive experience in commercial real estate sales, leasing and restaurant development. He is currently the Senior Leasing Manager at the Courtelis Company. Prior to joining the Courtelis Company, Jim Zaydon was the Real Estate Representative for Burger King Corporation’s Eastern Region, which included 26 states. He has also been employed at such firms as The Brandon Company and Trammell Crow Company where he handled in excess of 350,000 square feet of real estate transactions which valued over $28 million. Jim Zaydon is a Florida Licensed Real Estate Broker and a graduate of Barry University, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.

JUAN MARTINEZ, Leasing Manager

Juan Martinez is the newest member of the Courtelis Company team. He currently handles the company’s west coast portfolio and new developments in the South Florida region. Prior to Courtelis, Juan worked with Crossman and Company, where he handled the leasing of over 30 shopping centers, totaling over 2,000,000 SF. He also has prior experience in development and private equity.

Juan graduated with high honors from Georgia Tech and also holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

BRIAN F. KIELY, Treasurer/CFO,
Accounting

Brian F. Kiely has over twenty-five years of experience managing the financial, accounting and administrative activities for real estate and service companies. With over fifteen years in the real estate industry, Mr. Kiely has been involved in both the commercial (retail, office and industrial) and residential (land and apartments) development and property management. In addition to his current position as Chief Financial Officer for Courtelis Company, where he is responsible for the financial and tax reporting of over thirty operating and investment entities, he has held both positions with the Michael Swerdlow Companies and Rosen Associates. Mr. Kiely has graduated from Colby College with a B.A. in Administrative Science and from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with an MBA in Finance. He is also a licensed Florida Certified Public Accountant.

DEBORAH J. MORRIS, AAT, Controller,
Accounting

Deborah J. Morris has over eighteen years experience in accounting for commercial property management. She has held the position of Controller with the Courtelis Company since 2001. Her responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day functions of the accounting department including the preparation of the financial statements. Mrs. Morris has also worked for such firms as Cushman & Wakefield and Terranova Corporation where she gained her experience of third-party management having direct communication with the owners. She is certified by the Association of Accounting Technicians, Derby, England.

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